Loading device



1, 1 1 March 1,1927. I W J. BOHN I 6 90 5 LOAEING DEVICE Filed Jan. 12. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATES v 1,619,015 PATENT OFFICE.

' WILLIAM J. BOI'IN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO ALVEY MANUFACTURING 7 COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

LOADING DEVICE.

Application filed il'ariiiaiy 12, 1923. erial No. 612,308.

My'invention relates to endless conveyers, and is especially adaptable to those com monly referred to as vertical carriers. The object of the invention is to insure the proper loading of the carrier, to devise a simple,

economical and efficient device for controlling the delivery of packages to the carrier, to provide for the operation of the control ling device by the carrier, and to secure the advantages hereinafter appearing." The 1nvention consists principally in locating a gateway at the place of delivery on to the carrier and efiecting the operation thereof by the carrier itself; 1t also consists in making the gate adjustable to meet the requirements of packages of diflerent lengths and widths; it also consists in the arrangements and combinationsof parts hereinafter described and claimed. I

In the accompanying drawing wherein .like numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur.

Fig. 1 is a plan view ofmy device ap plied to a vertical carrier which is partly shown in section; and s Fig. 2 is a vertical side" elevation thereof. The accompanying drawing indicates 'a vertical carrier of well known type, comprising uprights 1 forming guides or runsprocket wheels or the like located at the top and bottom of the system (not shown in the drawing) and having brackets 3 or securing arms extending outwardly therefrom and adapted to support the boxes, packages, cans or'other articles. The arms are secured to Crossbars 4 or hangers 4t secured to the chain.

The drawing indicates the end portion of an inclinded way or conveyer 5 preferably of the type commonly referred tons a grav: ity conveyer, which is disposed in a plane substantially at right angles to the vertical carrier and terminates at or close to said carrier. The conveyer illustrated is provided with rollers 6. V

The loading station comprises a frame? located below the top of the rollers or way of the gravity conveyer or other feeding device and having fixed thereto arms 8 that extend into the shaft of the elevator or vertical conveyer, said arms 8 being spaced apart to permit the passage between them of the supporting brackets or flights 3 of the carrier. Extending across the end of said ways, an endless chain 2 which runs over gravity conveyer or. way'is 1 a gate 9 hereinafter described'and whose function is to insure the proper feeding of the boxes, packages or the like to the carrier.

Fulcr'umed on theframework is a lever 10 which extends crosswise of the elevator shaft and into the path of the cross-bars 41 upon which the flights 3 are mounted, whereby the flights bear against and tilt said lever. The

lever has a bracket 11 on the arm that projects into the elevator shaft andsaid arm. is loaded with a weight "12 'whereby the lever is automatically, restored by gravity to its normal position as soon as the cross-bar of the elevator clears it in its upward movement. 'The' weight may be secured to the armrby means of a pin 13 that may be dis posed in one of a series of holes 14: in the arm; so that the'position of the weight and hence the force with which it acts, may be adjusted. As it is desirable to be able to vary the point at which the lever 10 becomes disengaged from the crossbar of the carrier,

the end of said lever is equipped with an extension 15 that is disposed obliquely thereto and that is engaged by the carrier crossars after it clears vthe end of the lever proper, such extension being in clined preferably at such an angle that the bearing edge of such extension will be substantially vertical from the time that the gripping members of the gate hereinafter. described engage the box on the feed-Way untilv the proper time for releasing it. by the. disengagement of the lever from the cross-bar of the elevator. In order to vary this period, conformably, to the length of the box, the

' extension of the lever is adjustably mounted or is made extensible in any suitable way or it is made removable so as to be made replaceable with another extension of the required length. The outer arm of the lever 10 is provided with an upwardly projecting extension 1O adapted, in the normal position of the lever, to abut against one of the cross members of the framework and thus limit the downwardly swinging movement of the weighted inner arm of said lever.

The end of the lever 10 outside of the shaft is provided with links 16- or connecting pieces, each of which in turn .is connected in any suitable way to an arm 17 on one of the two rock shafts 18 that are disposed more or less vertically in suitable bearings-19 on the two sides of the feedway. On each of these rock shafts 18 is an element 20 that projects forwardly from the shaft and inwardly cross-wise of the feedway, the ends of these two elements being disposed opposite each other but suitably spaced apart. In their normal position, the ends of these elements 20 are closest together and they form a gate that prevents an article from passing from the end of the feedway on to the loading station. When the shafts are rocked, the ends of the gate members are spread apart far enough to permit the passage of a box of the size for which they are adjusted; and, as above indicated, the rocking of the shafts 18 is effected by the lifting of the lever by a cross-bar of the elevator.

Also mounted on said vertical rock shafts 18 and extending in a direction the opposite of that of the gate elements just mentioned are spring elements 21 that are disposed opposite each other and with their end portions normally spaced apart the maximum dis tance for their adjustment, which is wide enough to vpermit the passage of boxes; By this arrangement, the same rocking of the shaft which causes the separation of the forward or gate elements 20 causes the rear elements 21 to move transversely of the feedway toward each other. The free ends 22 of said spring elements are curved to function as guides for centering any boxes that may be out of alineinent and also as gripping surfaces for hearing against the sides of boxes that are properly positioned between them. By this arrangement, the for ward elements, in their normal position, will block the passage of boxes on the feed-way, while the rearward elements, in their normal position, will permit the passage of boxes between them; and, likewise, when the front elements are spread apart far enough to permit the foremost box to move by gravity on to the arms of the loading station, which is located in the path of the elevator flights, the rearward springs will have gripped the sides of the next box so as to hold the same until the movement of the elevator lifts the first box out of the way and permits the forward elements to again block the feed-way, whereupon the rearward elements spread apart to release the second box upon the feed-way at that point. The gate elements 20 and the spring elements 21 are made adjustable so that articles of any desired size may be accommodated. The curved members 22 may be removably secured to the spring members 21 by bolts 23 to permit adjustment and replacement.

Among the advantages of my invention, are the following:

In the first place, it dispenses wholly with devices for timing the operation of the gate by causing the operation thereof to be effected by the elevator itself. Incidental to this action is the great simplicity of the operating parts between the elevator and the gate, whereby the construction is simple and cheap to manufacture and has no parts that are liable to get out of adjustment by accident, and the facility with which the device may be adjusted for holding boxes, packages or articles of various lengths and widths. V i V VVhlle l'have described my invention as applied to a vertical elevator that is fed by gravity conveyer, it is obvious that it is applicable to inclined elevatorsand horizontal conveyers and may be used with. other types of feeding device and I do not wish to be limitedito the details of construc tion hereinbefore described What I claimis:

1. A loader for conveyers, comprising a feed-way terminating adjacent to said cenveyer, gate members at the end of said feedway, said gate members being mounted on rock shafts vertically disposed on opposite sides of said feed-way to be operated thereby, spring members mounted on said rock shafts to permit passage of articles along the feed-way when the gate is closed and to prevent passage of articles when the gate is open, said spring members being in position to grip the sides of the next to the endmost article, and means for operating said rock-shafts. I V

2. A loader for conveyers,comprising a feed-way terminating adjacent to said conveyer, gate members at the endof said feedway, said gate members being mounted on rock shafts vertically disposed on opposite sides of said feed-way to be operated thereby, spring members mounted on said rocl: shafts to permit passage of articles along the feed-way when the gate is closed and to prevent passage of articles when the gate is open, said spring members being loopshaped and having blunt ends in position to bear against the sides of the next to the endmost article, and means for operating said rock shafts, said means comprising a lever disposed in the path of the conveyor to be actuated thereby and links connecting said lever and said rock shafts.

3. A loader for conveyers, comprising a feed-way terminating adjacent to said conveyer, gate members at the end of said operating said rock shafts, said means comprising a lever disposed in the path of the conveyer to be actuated thereby and links connecting said lever and said rock shafts, said lever being provided with a weight whereby it is caused to return to normal position.

4:- A loader for conveyers comprising an endless chain of conveyer flights, said loader comprising a feed-way terminating adjacent to said conveyer, a gate at the end of said feed-way comprising two resiliently mounted members movable crosswise of the feedway in opposite directions, means for opening said gate, a support adapted to receive an article from the feed-way when said gate is open to be collected by the conveyer, means for blocking the passage of articles to the end of the feed-way when said gate is open comprising two resiliently mounted loop-shaped members with blunt end portions movable crosswise of the feedway in opposite directions in position to grip the next to the endmost article, and means for actuating said gate opening and passage blocking means, said means comprising a lever disposed in the path or" said conveyer flights to be actuated thereby.

5. A loader for conveyors comprising an endless chain of conveyer flights, said loader comprising a feed-way terminating adjacent to said conveyer, a gate at the end of said teed-way comprising two resiliently mounted members movable crosswise of the feedway in opposite directions, means for opening said gate, a support adapted to receive an article from the feed-way when said gate is open to be collected by the conveyer,

comprising a feed-way terminating adjacent to said conveyer, a gate at the end of said feed-way comprising two members mounted on opposite sides of said teedway to swing crosswise thereof, and a pair of resilient loop-shaped blocking members operatively connected to the respective gate members to swing crosswise of said feed-way reversely of the movement of the gate members to which they are respectively connected, and in position to press against an article on said feed-way near the end thereof, means for opening said gate, a support adapted to receive an article from the feed-way when said gate is open to be collected by the conveyer, means for actuating said gate-opening and passage-blocking means, said means comprising a lever disposed in the path of said conveyer flights to be actuated thereby, and automatic means for restoring the mechanism to normal position.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this eighth day of January, 1923.

WILLIAM J. BOI-IN. 

